One day you wash up on the beach, wet and naked. Another day you wash back out. In between, the scenery changes constantly.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Millennials, the Screwed Generation?

Are Millennials the Screwed Generation?

I think so, too.

How has this generation been screwed? Let’s count the ways, starting with the economy. No generation has suffered more from the Great Recession than the young. Median net worth of people under 35, according to the U.S. Census, fell 37 percent between 2005 and 2010; those over 65 took only a 13 percent hit.

The wealth gap today between younger and older Americans now stands as the widest on record. The median net worth of households headed by someone 65 or older is $170,494, 42 percent higher than in 1984, while the median net worth for younger-age households is $3,662, down 68 percent from a quarter century ago, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

The older generation, notes Pew, were “the beneficiaries of good timing” in everything from a strong economy to a long rise in housing prices. In contrast, quick prospects for improvement are dismal for the younger generation.

One key reason: their indebted parents are not leaving their jobs, forcing younger people to put careers on hold. Since 2008 the percentage of the workforce under 25 has dropped 13.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while that of people over 55 has risen by 7.6 percent.

Now, that's actually one I can do something about, soon.

But what the millennials have to do is to stop listening to how bad it is, and just start to build lives. Get married, have kids, build businesses that millennials will use. You know what they are, or at least you should have a better idea than a boomer. Yep, for every one that succeeds, 4 or so will fail. That's how it always has been, and going though that has often been the precursor to success.